Hanging out with the cousins

This past weekend LJ and the boys got to hang out at our house for the weekend. While it did rain most of the weekend, we had a great time watching the boys play the Wii, get super hyper together (which is normal), and just enjoying each others company. On Saturday LJ and Matt took the boys to see Shorts at the theater in Marion and on Sunday we got to go to church together. We had a blast!

This should cheer you up

Potty Craziness

I had a funny thing happen last week. As most of you know, Ella isn't potty trained. It's close, but I am pushing it by no means. We have switched to pull ups, encourage her to try before bath and after she wakes up, but usually nothing happens. She has a drawer full of dora, princess, and every other character panties waiting for the big switch to happen. There are m&ms in a container on the counter that she'd rather not have.

I picked Ella up from Childwatch at the Y last week. They told me that she has been doing so well going to the potty for them for a while now. Kim and I looked at each other and said "what?!" Evidently, she has secretly potty trained herself. I was super excited so we went home and decided to try a day in big girl panties. 20 minutes later while standing beside me and looking directly at me, she peed all over the floor. This week we had our Common Ground stay at home moms meeting. The teacher told me she had told them she had to potty and went and did it for them in the bathroom. Today while I was on the phone on the porch, I heard her screaming inside. She had gotten naked, put herself on the potty, and pooped.

So what I'm thinking, is as long as I'm not involved at all, she's ready to be a big girl. I'm not pushing the issue yet, just staying hopeful that before her 3rd birthday, she will be a full time in big girl panties. Until then, I'll take whatever I can get out of her secret-potty training.

Meredith Claire

Meredith gets to hang out with us a few days a week now. She's 8 weeks old and such a joy!

Making Cards for Grandad

This week my grandfather has been in the hospital. Pray along with us for his blood pressure to be regulated, his blood sugar to stabilize, and for him to recover quickly. Your cards will be in the mail on Monday, grandad!

Noah's 2nd soccer game

Noah is doing well at soccer. Matt's going to work with him this week encouraging him to stay a little more focused and to not dance as much on the field :) But he's having a blast having Emma on his team. Ella had fun today too because her best bud, Sylvie was there. They got to play ring around the rosie and ate snacks together. I hope you enjoy the video!

Hannah Beth

I just stole these pictures off of my sisters facebook page. My little neice is so absolutely gorgeous!

Noah's first soccer game

I just wanted to let you know that Noah did awesome in his first soccer game! He didn't make any actual goals, but he did almost make a few, and passed the ball a lot to Ethan (the kid on the team with the best aim!). It was so much fun and he was so proud the whole time. I can't wait for our families to get to join us at a game!

"7...8"

My sweet Ella often gets bored at night while Noah and Matt play their video games. Tonight, while I was cleaning up dinner, she climbed on the piano and wrote a little tune "7...8" It was so cute I grabbed the camera to film it. Hope you enjoy. And be careful, "7...8" is so catchy, the song might get stuck in your head! :)

Labor Day Weekend in Hendersonville

Proud.

Today was a big milestone for Noah. Last night we had to punish him for lying to us. We had a big talk about why God doesn't like it when we lie and how it just simply isn't right. We've never really had a problem with him lying in the past. I found out too that the theme character trait at Marion Elementary for this month is honesty. Every day that I've picked up Noah since he started, he is usually in a pretty good mood. Today, he wasn't. He wouldn't talk to me, and we stopped on the front lawn of MES to figure out what was going on. He told me that he did something bad and needed a spanking. He admitted he lied to his teacher today. I asked him what he thought he should do about it, and he said he needed to say he was sorry. We went back into the school and found Ms. Parker in the hallway. I told her Noah needed to say something to her and he took over and said he was so sorry, that he had lied to her about getting out of line in the playground, and that he did it because he didn't want to lose his greencard. He asked for forgiveness. She was so sweet and gave him a big hug. She told him that since he had apologized he gets to keep his greencard for the week and will still get to go shopping in the store tommorrow with his greencard money. I was so proud that he didn't have to be prompted when talking to his teacher. That his little mind is already recognizing when he is sinning and that he is feeling guilty enough to do the right thing. I'm glad at 5 years old that he has a conscience and wants to do the right thing even if he's going to "lose his green card." I can't wait to see all that God is going to do through my amazing little mans big heart. I'm proud of him.

Our little soccer player

Noah had his first practice tonight! He was so proud of himself. Every once in awhile he would look over at us to see if we were looking. He even caught me trying to take a picture of him in action and he cheezed for me. His favorite part is two fold - like Jack and Nick, he now has a "sport" to call his own, and Emma is on his team. He was so excited to get his jersey today too. I am so glad that he is embracing this new challenge head on. Noah is excited to learn, eventually going to quit touching the ball with his hands, getting some great excercise, having fun, and getting to meet new friends.

Fall Pajamas!

It has been so absolutely beautiful here the past few days. It's actually been COLD in the mornings and evenings. So much so, we've got the windows open, no fans on, and extra blankets. We are so thankful to live in such a beautiful area of NC. I had to break out the fall pajamas I had bought the kids for tonight. After piecing together random sweatpants and long sleeve shirts I decided to take the plunge and open some of the fall totes. And two days ago I did it... decorated the house for fall/harvest time. I couldn't help myself. :)

Jesse's Birthday

Jesse got to spend his birthday at our house last weekend. We had a great time hanging out with Matt's family. Mark and Ann even got to come for awhile on Saturday.